Lack of Long-term gameplay in TS4

"NXOR007;c-17554994" wrote:
They are excuses based on poor decisions made at the start of development though. Some things can't be fixed after 6 years because they weren't implemented at the beginning, where it should have been. TS4 was to have a huge online feature and the engine was built for that and in such a way that low spec machines could even run it, without having to sacrifice too much of the graphics aspect of the game.

All the focus has been put into building tech that can run an aesthetically pleasing game. Sims 3 couldn't release any more EPs because the game engine that supported the open world system was burning up the player's machines. Open world was scrapped and sacrificed in order to run TS4 on pretty much any machine. On top of that, the online feature was also scrapped because they quickly learned it had failed with SimCity, so TS4 got a quick overhaul and all there was left was a half single player game that would look really pretty on any machine.

I think the fact that TS4 wasn't built for beefier computers is part of the problem. Of course they did not want to lose an already established player base. Eventually the game got an upgrade to work on 64bit machines only, but this has nothing to do with building a system for better in-depth gameplay. The 64bit support is only there so that TS4 can add more aesthetically pleasing content while another title is in development.

I don't believe TS4 will get any more extensive game play systems. It will get variations on what it currently has, but nothing beyond that. The core engine is already in a fixed state.
So yes, I hope they're learning as they go, when moving onto production of a successor. And that focus is not on aesthetics and online game play only. I know there is a huge chance that the next iteration will support VR as well. But if true immersion is being overlooked -unique personalities and behaviour for sims and anything that did work better in previous games- then it's going to be the same thing all over, just maybe in a slightly prettier dress.

I agree with you, I don't foresee the core systems of the games being changed or upgraded to the kind of game I want to play. That's why I'm keeping my eyes open for news on Paralives and maybe the Sims 5, although it honestly would not surprise me at this point if the Sims 5 is online, or, even more shallow and cut back than TS4 is.

I think they've done a decent-ish job turning TS4 into the game that it is - since release it has definitely improved, but the style of the game is linear and it always feels curiously empty to me when I play. The Sims feel empty (empty-headed!!) and you're correct, that is why expansion packs continue to sell like wildfire - because people are desperate to make it feel fuller, and they go "ooh, pretty! ?" to basically anything these days aha. Is sad. Luckily, I still have the older games to play.